A.P.P.L.E

1st June, it’s the Gawai Festival - an event celebrated by the local races in Sarawak. It’s actually the harvest festival. People gather together to celebrate a time of good harvest. In fact, it is known as Gawai Dayak which originally celebrated by the Ibans.

The Gawai Dayak festival is celebrated every year on the 1st of June, at the end of the harvest season to worship the Lord Sempulang Gana. On this day, the Ibans get together to celebrate, often visiting each other. The Iban traditional dance, the ngajat, is performed with the accompaniment of the taboh and gendang, the name of the Ibans’ traditional music. Pua kumbu, the Iban traditional cloth, would be used to decorate houses. Tuak, which is rice wine, would be served to guests.

I went to the Sarawak Cultural Village with my boyfriend to experience the Gawai celebration.

Lastly, Selamat Gawai and wishing you gayu guru gerai nyamai (long life, health and prosperity).

Last night went to PC Fair with my boyfriend. Thought of buying a 4GB usb drive which cost only RM120…but at last didn’t buy. I bought 1 stack of CD-R which cost me RM45 (lasap brand) and I bought a cheap usb keyboard which cost me RM28…for my “smacking keyboard usage”…(playing o2jam)The worse thing is I spent RM179 to buy a DDR2 RAM which doesn’t fit my motherboard (I didn’t know it can’t support DDR2 until then)…so at last this 1GB RAM I attached it to my sister’s PC…and now WTF..she has overall 3GB RAM for her computer.

15 days of Chinese New Year celebration. It finally come to an end yesterday (4th March 2007, the 15th day of the 1st month of Lunar year). At this day, which is the last day of Chinese New Year celebration, Chinese family usually have another gathering which each of the family member has a reunion dinner together. Some will have the reunion for lunch instead of dinner. I had mine at noon, because I needed to work (even it was a Sunday) at night.

Anyway, the Chinese New Year this year, really, I didn’t feel any much different with normal days.. this year even worse, no visiting, no fireworks, no anything. But I’m glad that I get to spend 1 week freedom without family around XP

Last day of Chinese New Year, fireworks all around. Here is a photo taken by my friend Neonplanet. I think it’s very beautiful that I really want to post it in my blog to show everyone. ^^

Hina Matsuri, the Japanese Doll Festival (雛祭り), or “Girls’ Day” takes place on March 3. This is the day families pray for the happiness and prosperity of their girls and to help ensure that they grow up healthy and beautiful. The celebration takes place both inside the home and at the seashore. Both parts are meant to ward off evil spirits from girls.A girl’s first “Girls’ Day” is called her hatzu-zekku. On a girl’s hatzu-zekku it is very popular for the girl’s granparents to buy her a display doll. Most families take out this display of dolls around mid-February and put it away immediately after Hina Matsuri is over. There is a superstition that says that families slow to put away the dolls will have trouble marrying off their daughters!

Source: http://farstrider.net/Japan/Festivals/HinaMatsuri/
More Information on Hina Matsuri: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri

It’s so cool of Japan to celebrate such a cute event! Unlike Chinese, Japanese treasure the girls, wishing that their young girls will obtain happiness and prosperity. Not like most Chinese, even in this new era, still prefer to have sons more than daughters. Or treasure the sons more than the opposite.

Happy Girls’ Day to every girl out there!
(Although it’s late ><)